Bone on Bone
by rayquazing
Summary: A gut wrenching crunch, nearly masked in the squelch of blood dampened flesh. It would make him gag if he wasn't already panicking.


Bone on bone.

A gut wrenching crunch, nearly masked in the squelch of blood dampened flesh. It would make him gag if he wasn't panicking. His mind preoccupied by the current situation he and his meister are in.

It had begun like most missions do, a simple order from kid, now referred to by most as Shinigami-sama. He had said it was high priority, but it wouldn't be a problem for the Last Death Scythe and his trusted meister. Its hideout was believed to be in the Black Forest, in Germany. At night it would raid towns and steal the souls of children. It disgusted Soul, but it wasn't unusual for a demon to prey on children. They were easy of targets, too trusting. If he and Maka had children he swore he would lock them in a closet and never let them out. Not with evil like this lurking in the world.

Upon their arrival at the forest everything had seemed calm. Maka hadn't sensed a soul, so naturally they came to the conclusion that they were in the wrong place. There was no Keshin that was clear. Then there had been a stir in the brush, it had put Soul on edge. Maka had dismissed it with an amused chuckle. The woods were full of the sounds of animals, abundant with life. Why was that particular sound different from the others?

Then it burst through the trees, it was claws and scales, terror incarnate. There was what looked to be human hair growing from the top of its elongated skull. It was black and stringy, it looked damp. The most terrifying thing about it was its eyes. They weren't the deep blood red orbs most Keshin wielded. They were a pale robin egg blue; they were human. It made him shudder.

Maka launched herself at the beast, pale green eyes ablaze. The beast crossed its arms in front it, each covered in thick bone plating, limiting the damage done, and sending Maka reeling backward, slamming into a tree. It rushed them with its massive jaw wide open, looking to strike the final blow. But the meister was too quick and clever for it to end so quickly. She leaped out of the way just in time, and the Keshin's teeth lodged into the tree.

While it struggled to free itself Maka slammed Soul into its vulnerable back. The beast shrieked against the tree, pushing harder than before. Maka was prepared when it finally freed itself and lunged for them again. She jumped over it, gliding easily through the air, while lashing out with soul, intersecting her previous mark leaving a bloody X marred into the Keshin's skin.

Instead of turning and charging at the duo again the Keshin stopped moving. Maka watched carefully, it was still alive. Its breathing was heavy, its muscles tightened. Why wasn't it attacking? She was about to take the initiative when it slowly turned around, and sniffed in the voice of a crying child.

"W-why did you cut me?" Its baby blue eyes were wide and desperate, "do y-you not like m-me?" It carried a heavy German accent, but it was the voice of a child, that was irrefutable.

Maka was frozen where she stood, staring into the eyes of the beast. They were teary and innocent. She wondered who's eyes they really were. It's first victim, its favorite, its last? They probably belonged to the owner of the voice it used, a child. She felt sick.

"Lost your resolve so quickly?" It whispered, suddenly malicious. Its tail twitched.

"Maka we have to end this. Snap out of it Maka!" Soul cried out to his meister.

She shook her head and charged at the creature.

Maka had just raised Soul into the air ready to deliver a harsh blow when he felt a strange tingling rush up his shaft to his blade. She was coming down onto the Keshin when he felt his body slip from weapon form. He had just slammed into the demon when he lost all control of his body and was sucked into the black room.

What had just happened?

"It's the madness," the imp danced toward him, grinning ear to ear, "the Keshin sensed it, and now he is using it against you." He snapped his little clawed fingers and an image appeared on one of the walls. It showed an up close but blurry Maka struggling against hands wrapped tightly around her throat.

"You need to get me out of here," his voice was deep and urgent, "Now!" He slammed his fist into the wall, staring at Maka desperately. He needed to save her from himself. There hadn't been a Keshin since Asura who had been able to tap into the black blood Soul carried with him. How had this one?

"I'm afraid there is nothing I can do my boy," the imp sighed, "the Keshin locked the door and swallowed the key. There's not a deal I can cut you that would get you out of here."

What was happening? Why did Soul have his hands around her neck? Why was her weapon trying to kill her? His eyes were wild and wide, filled with a lust for blood.

"Are you scared, lover?" He whispered in her ear, "You should be." He pulled one nimble hand away from her throat, transforming it into a blade.

"Your skin is so smooth love, it's beautiful," he whispered, "But I always thought your scars were sexier." He pressed the blade into her cheek, licking his lips.

She used his distracted state to her advantage and kneed him hard in the groin, while simultaneously slamming her forehead into his exposed throat. He choked and rolled off of her.

"Fuck you!" She screeched at the demon still standing off to the side. She charged at it in a blind rage, it had provoked the madness that had lain dormant within Soul for years. She was going to slaughter it.

It raised one mighty claw into the air, as it brought it down on Maka there was a flash of black and red. Soul stood between the two, his arm-turned-scythe blocking the blow. He was shaking hard and his face was constantly contorting, and twitching. He was battling the madness that was destroying him from the inside out.

"What?" It cried, "you little bastard! I commanded you to kill her!"

"Not-" Soul breathed hard, his whole body ached, "not today." He forced the great claw away from him and lunged toward the Keshin again, ready to strike a harsh blow, when he was pulled back into the blackness of his head.

For a brief moment Maka had hoped Soul had really pushed back the madness. It was silly to hope. He now laid dormant against the trunk of a tree, his face contorted in agony.

"Stop it! Stop torturing him!" She begged the Keshin.

"Where's the fun in that, Maka?" her named rolled off of its tongue sweet and slow like honey.

She shrieked into the air and charged at the Keshin again, this time when its claw came down on her she didn't need Soul to save her. She easily moved out of the way and glided gracefully over the ground. She avoided several more attacks before she leaped onto its back, her eyes burning with an intensity that made even the demon feel weak, and then she slammed her fist deep into its wound. Directly in the center of the X she had carved before. She twisted her fist and held fast as the thing tried to shake her from its body.

"I'll stop when you free Soul!"

"You can only inflict so much damage little human," it hissed through barred teeth, "You have no weapon. Give up and I'll spare him!" It shook hard again, desperate to stop the sharp pain twisting down its spine.

Maka dug her nails into open wound, "Let him go!"

The noise the Keshin made was that of an injured child. It made Maka wince. Suddenly she heard Soul gasp behind her as he regained control of his body. She jumped from the back of the demon, wiping her bloodied hand on her shirt. She kept her eyes on the Keshin but extended her hand to her weapon.

"Come on Soul," her voice was filled with false hope, "Let's end this."

"M-Maka run please," his voice was weak and hoarse, then he broke into convulsions.

His eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body shook aggressively against the cold ground.

"Soul!" She pushed his shoulders against the ground trying desperately to end the seizure. When that didn't work she pulled his head against her chest and held tight.

"Dummkopf." the tiny child's voice was in her ear, and then its claws were in her back. She gasped then choked as blood filled her throat. It dragged her away from Soul, who was beginning to regain consciousness, and flung her against a tree like she was made of cloth. Blood dribbled down from her lips onto her chin then splattered on the dirtied white fabric of her uniform.

"Your weapon is too weak to help you now," it caressed her face, "I cannot wait to have such beautiful green eyes." It cooed over her like she was a baby.

"You…cannot…h-have them." She whispered, her vision was beginning to blur.

"Oh but they are already mine. They have been mine since the moment I laid mine upon them," it tapped a claw against her nose playfully, "And your voice! It is so very cute. I will use it well, rest assured." It looked over its shoulder at Soul, "Hmm, whatever shall I do with that one? His eyes aren't very pretty, and his voice is quite deep. He's of no use to me."

"Let him go," She was beginning to sink in on herself.

The Keshin ignored her and began o trace her orbital bone with its claw, "You have to be alive for this part. I'm very sorry, but this will hurt."

It began to cut into the delicate flesh above her eyeball, and somewhere in her dying body she found the energy to scream. Oh God how it hurt. She forced one of her hands forward slamming it into the Keshin's chest, breaking through the thin layer of skin there and tearing through muscle.

"Bitch!" It screamed. Its claws raked across her face blinding her good eye.

It was then that Souls eyes finally opened and the reality of the present struck him hard.

Maka lies bleeding and whimpering against a tree her face marred by the claws of the Keshin. It looms over her its massive jaw open as it prepares to kill his meister. Maka is going to die. Horror fills him to the brim and despite his weakened state he forces himself into action. He isn't even half way to his target when a loud crunch resonates through the forest.

Bone on Bone.

The Keshin pulls away from his meister the sound bloodied flesh rubbing against more bloodied flesh sends chills through his body. Despite this he lunges through the air and forces his blade deep into the X marked in the demon's flesh. It rears into the air, throwing Soul off of its back. It howls as it falls to its side, no longer able to move its lower half it writhes about in the dead leaves that cover the forest floor.

Soul leaves it to bleed to death and walks slowly towards the small form crumpled against a tree. He is filled with dread, he doesn't was this to be his last memory with her. She can't be dead. His Maka is fighter, she is a survivor. She has lived through so much. She can't die now, not when life was finally looking up for them. Not here in an unfamiliar country far from home. Not like this, with three giant holes in her back and her face marred beyond recognition.

He collapses to his knees next to her and pulls her tiny frame into his arms.

"Maka?" it's barley a whisper, "Please answer me."

She doesn't move, she is completely still, her chest doesn't rise and fall, and her eyelashes don't flutter like they do when she wakes up from a nap. He pushes a piece of hair out of her face; it is stiff with drying blood. Her uniform is more red than white.

Soul gently lifts a limp hand and presses it against his chest, "Maka? Maka oh God please this can't happen." He crushes her entire bloody body to his, "Please Maka you can't do this to me! You can't leave me here!"

Sobs rack his weak broken body, "I love you, Maka, please," he has never cried like this before, but he's also never felt such a deep throbbing ache.

"Soul," a hand gently touches his shoulder from behind, its Kid.

He pulls away and shelters Maka's body with his own. He won't let them take her away from him. Not yet. He needs these final moments with her, even if she is already gone. He wants to be alone with her.

"Soul we need to go home." Kid's voice is understanding but firm.

But Kid doesn't understand, he can't go home; Maka was home. He can hear someone crying behind Kid. Tsubaki, somewhere in the back of his foggy mind the name rings out.

He pulls Maka closer and turns his entire body away from Kid, he wants to be left alone here with her. He wants them to go away. They have no business here; they don't love her, not like he does.

"Soul," Black Star steps toward him, he looks like he is about to cry, "It's-It's just a body. S-she's-" he chokes before he can say it, _gone_, the unspoken word hits Soul hard. He drops the body and sobs violently into his hands. _She'sgoneshe'sgoneshe'sgone'she'sgone_. The words repeat over and over again in his mind until he begins to murmur it out loud. He wants the madness to take him. He doesn't want to be here without her. He can't handle it.

It's Kid who finally calms everyone enough to get a funeral pyre built. When they lay her on the top they have to pull Soul away from her. His sanity is hanging by a thread, Tsubaki sobs as the fire burns sending sparks into the air. They wait until all that is left of their beloved friend is ash, before they extinguish the flames and leave the forest. Black Star and Kid are forced to restrain Soul. He doesn't want to leave. He wants to stay with his Maka. He screams it at them and into the dense dark woods.

It's on the flight home that Soul learns what happened after he and Maka left for Germany. Kid had been going through paperwork when Liz had rushed into his office with a thick file in hand and asked if Maka and Soul had already been sent. It turned out that there had been an error on the file of the Black Forest Keshin; it was labeled lower level than it actually was. It was only supposed to be taken on in groups of 6 or more due to its ability to take over and control one's body. Kid had tried desperately to get into contact with them, but it had been too little too late.

And now Maka was dead. It was then on the flight back to Death City that Soul lost his mind. All he could hear was the disgusting slap of bloodied flesh on bloodied flesh, and the crunch of bone on bone.

He screams, and the madness takes him for the final time.


End file.
